Did you watch the VMAs tonight? I only tuned in because Twitter was buzzing. I'm so happy I didn't have to sit through the whole show just to see a 30 second teaser trailer, lol... Only maybe 15 minutes!!

I came across this book on Goodreads and it kind of reminded me of Delirium. However, the main difference between it and Delirium is quite obvious. In this book their beliefs are music and partying, but in Delirium is was the exact opposite. These kind of Dystopian books really intrigue me and I thought some of you might be intrigued by it, too. So, please comment below with if you've read it, what you thought of it, or if you'd like to read it!

Into a world of wild secrets and deadly pleasures comes a girl whose innocence may be her greatest strength.

In Ixion music and party are our only beliefs. Darkness is our comfort. We have few rules but they are absolute . . .

Retra doesn't want to go to Ixion, the island of ever-night, ever-youth and never-sleep. Retra is a Seal – sealed minds, sealed community. She doesn’t crave parties and pleasure, experience and freedom. But her brother Joel left for Ixion two years ago, and Retra is determined to find him. Braving the intense pain of her obedience strip to escape the only home she’s ever known, Retra stows away on the barge that will take her to her brother. When she can’t find Joel, Retra finds herself drawn deeper into the intoxicating world of Ixion. Come to me, whispers a voice in her head. Who are the Ripers, the mysterious guardians of Ixion? What are the Night Creatures Retra can see in the shadows? And what happens to those who grow too old for Ixion? Retra will find that Ixion has its pleasures, but its secrets are deadly. Will friendship, and the creation of an eternal bond with a Riper, be enough to save her from the darkness? Listen well, baby bats. Burn bright, but do not stray from the paths. Remember, when you live in a place of darkness you also live with creatures of the dark.

From August 22nd to August 28th, read as many books on your TBR as you can! You can participate even if you're not a blogger! Post your progress on your blog, on Twitter, on Facebook, on GoodReads, etc. There will also be fun CHALLENGES and GIVEAWAYS!!

I'll be posting my progress on my personal blog and on Twitter @abackwardsstory. I would love to see you guys participate, too. Let's cheer each other on!

I've listed the books I'm planning to read this week on A Backwards Story so I won't clutter up this space.

But..................how about a challenge just for us?

If you're going to participate, read a book by Lauren Oliver! And...re-reading totally counts. I'm going to try to re-read DELIRIUM for a fun, super-secret reason that you'll hear more about soon!

Cover Crazy is hosted by The Book Worms. Each week, bloggers "admire the art and beauty of a book’s design, so I’m going to post minimal words. It is up to you to write how you feel and what you like about it the way you’d like to."

[This is a meme I usually do solely on my own blog, A BACKWARDS STORY, but since I'm featuring LIESL & PO this week, I decided to cross-post my thoughts on this cover to all of you. What do you think? Are you excited for Lauren's first MG release?]

Why I Love This Cover:

When reading my ARC of LIESL & PO, I realized just how very much I already love this cover. I cannot WAIT to see a final version. HarperCollins threw a *lot* of money into the ARC. The image isn’t flat like most ARCs, but embossed…and gold. It looks more like what the final paperback will most likely look like than it does an ARC. Plus, you know, it comes in an awesome box holding the most powerful magic in the world: The written word!

[Photo by Lauren Oliver]

I love all the gold on the cover. The book is absolutely brilliant and I have a feeling that HarperCollins is going to do a heavy push for awards season. Can’t you just picture this book with a bright, shiny golden Newberry on the cover already? Silver just won’t match as well! I also love the fact that the gilded circular image is full of ghosties. It reminds me a LOT of A CHRISTMAS CAROL by Charles Dickens. Actually, the book itself reminds me of several stories, but I’ll post more on that another time.

The cover features Liesl, Po, and Bundle. It’s only missing Will! The coloring is great and the cover is shiny and eye-catching. Kids are going to gobble this one right up, and rightfully so!

“Kami Garcia, coauthor of the bestselling YA series Beautiful Creatures, sold the first two books in a new series, called the Legion, to Julie Scheina at Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. Scheina bought North American rights to Unbreakable and Unbound from Jodi Reamer at Writers House; the series is set to launch in fall 2013. The first book, Unbreakable, is also already in development in Hollywood with producer Mark Morgan (the Twilight Saga and Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief) attached… LBBYR called the series a “frightening and thrilling urban fantasy’”full of “suspense, romance, and dark paranormal forces.”

Are you curious yet? Here’s a preview:

Kennedy Waters’ entire life changes when she finds her mother dead and discovers she is a member of a secret society formed two hundred years ago to protect the world from a powerful demon determined to find a way out of his dimension and into ours, and from the dangerous spirits he controls.

Wow, awesome news! I'm a huge Beautiful Creatures fan; I love Kami and Margie's writing, and cannot wait to read their solo projects! Remember, Margie also sold her new YA Sci-Fi series to LB. These ladies are taking new paths, and I'm sure they'll do great in their new projects.

How awesome is that?! As usual, Maggie did it all herself (with help, of course, but it's all her anyway). I'm dying to get this book and have already pre-ordered it (the perks of having a debit card!).

Here's the summary if you don't know what the book is about:

It happens at the start of every November: the Scorpio Races. Riders attempt to keep hold of their water horses long enough to make it to the finish line. Some riders live. Others die.

At age nineteen, Sean Kendrick is the returning champion. He is a young man of few words, and if he has any fears, he keeps them buried deep, where no one else can see them.

Puck Connolly is different. She never meant to ride in the Scorpio Races. But fate hasn’t given her much of a chance. So she enters the competition — the first girl ever to do so. She is in no way prepared for what is going to happen. (Taken from Goodreads).

Hodder and Stoughton -Delirium's UK publisher- is having an amazing contest for UK residents only. You can win one of five ARC copies by entering here. The contest will be up until Sept 1st, so hurry and enter!

And check out this awesome interactive video, where you can choose an option at the end of it!

Wow, a lot of YA books are getting film deals lately! Congrats Kiersten!

We only know that the project's been bought by Gil Adler Productions and Reverie Enterteinment Partners and that it'll be directed by Ray Kay. Even Perez Hilton blogged about it. I think it'll be a long time until we learn more about this, but it's great news!

We've got The Hunger Games, Delirium, Thirteen Reasons Why, Wake, and many more coming, but what do you think about this?

Personally, I love the idea of being able to watch my favourite books come to life on the cinema, but what does it mean for screenplay writers?

It's already hard enough for them to sell their stories, but I think it'll be even more difficult to do so when so many producers prefer to buy book adaptations than original work.

And then I'm not so sure about known actors playing these characters. Take THG, for instance. The idea of Josh Hutcherson as Peeta is something I'm still struggling with. I think it's time for these actors to make room for the new ones. (I have nothing against Selena Gomez and Miley Cyrus, but I do not want to see them in 13 Reasons and Wake.)

Let's hope Paranormalcy makes a nice film debut! With cool actors and an awesome production.

Life as Isaac’s girlfriend was pretty much perfect for Katie. Until the night she messed everything up. Katie is devastated over her mistake—and she’ll do anything to get Isaac back.

Then, on her seventeenth birthday, she discovers a strange and beautiful locket. Katie puts it on and finds herself going back in time—to the night of The Mistake. Katie is thrilled at the chance to do it all over again. If she can change the past, maybe she can save her perfect future with Isaac. But as other aspects of her life become inexplicably altered, she realizes that second chances come with a dark price.

Should she have tampered with fate? Or is the most extraordinary kind of life the one that’s far from perfect?

Who wouldn’t like to pause and hit rewind whenever something goes wrong in life? Instant re-do! Upon finding a mysterious locket engraved with the phrase “Some mistakes weren’t meant to last” among her grandmother’s belongings when getting reading for her anniversary date, Katie slips it on, thinking it to be the perfect complement to her black and silver outfit. Plus, the phrase has a deeper meaning for her: Something happened, something she keeps referring to as “a mistake.” That night, the mistake bubbles to the surface and ruins everything. Stranded, alone, and upset, the locket hones in on Katie’s emotions and sucks her back to the night everything changed. She now has the chance to fix things and make them right. Only...things are no longer quite as they once were. Little things have changed in this time, from people’s attitudes, to their relationships with one another, to things that never existed before or were in different locations. Not only that, there is a scar left against Katie’s skin from the locket’s blaring heat as it brought her backward, a reminder of the price she paid to return to this moment. And certain things scare Katie, such as the fact that the locket her grandfather had given her grandmother after a mistake no longer has his picture…but that of a completely different man.

Katie isn’t sure what happened, but she’s determined to make things work this time around. She knows what situations to avoid, and she’s able to work her way around things that didn’t go well for her the first time, such as forgetting her math homework and getting in trouble, or getting embarrassed by a fellow classmate. Plus, she’s able to prevent The Mistake from happening. But something goes wrong that never happened the first time around, and the locket takes on a life of its own, sucking her back a few minutes and leaving behind a second scar…and another new reality. This time around, situations are darker, scarier, and after two terrible tragedies that Katie isn’t able to reverse, she begins to realize just how evil the locket really is, but it’s impossible to move from around her neck. In this reality, her grandmother has never seen the locket before, and she has nobody to turn to; there is no one with answers.

THE LOCKET by Stacey Jay reminds me of Lauren Oliver’s debut novel, bestseller BEFORE I FALL. As Sam repeats the last day of her life, trying to change things so that she doesn’t die in a horrific accident, she’s able to repeat various situations and learns a lot each time, as does Katie in THE LOCKET. She becomes wiser, learns truths she’s been hiding from herself for a long time, and forms new opinions of the people in her life, able to analyze them in a way she never could before. Both novels remind me of the Bill Murray movie GROUNDHOG DAY, where a weatherman is forced to live through his most hated holiday again and again and again. Like Sam and Katie, he goes through many revelations and has a different outlook on life by the end. Katie’s story is the most dissimilar of the three; while it shares common elements, Katie only goes backward twice and has no control, so she doesn’t do crazy things that can be fixed the next day the way the others can, having been through the same day again and again and again with no hope of the next one being any different. Jay manages to weave together a story that never gets boring, but leaves readers more tense as the novel progresses, wanting to know what happens next and the secret behind the locket with a life of its own.

Nora Grey's life is still far from perfect. Surviving an attempt on her life wasn't pleasant, but atleast she got a guardian angel out of it: a mysterious, magnetic, gorgeous guardian angel. But, despite his role in her life, Patch has been acting anything but angelic. He's more elusive than ever and even worse, he's started spending time with Nora's arch-enemy, Marcie Millar.

Nora would have hardly noticed Scott Parnell, an old family friend who has moved back to town, if Patch hadnt been acting so distant. Even with Scott's totally infuriating attitude Nora finds herself drawn to him - despite her lingering feeling that he's hiding something.

Haunted by images of her murdered father, and questioning whether her nephilim bloodline has anything to do with his death, Nora puts herself increasingly in dangerous situations as she desperatly searches for answers. But maybe some things are better left buried, because the truth could destroy everything - and everyone - she trusts.

My Opinion:

Hush, Hush was such an amazing, exciting, and fun beginning to a series, that I was hoping to be even more in love with Patch in Crescendo. But I was a little disappointed.

It took me a while to remember that Nora's sixteen years old, therefore some of her actions and decisions seemed a little immature to me. Even so, I couldn't help think sometimes that she could make a better choice. Or tell her, "Why don't you see what he's doing to you?" (he being either Patch, Scott or Rixon).

All that aside, I loved how Becca put even more drama into Crescendo, making Nora question her father's death, thinking it might have been Patch who did it, which led to the two of them eventually breaking up. All I could think was, "No! Don't do that! You can't leave Patch, he loves you!" But I've got to admit, she was very determined, and didn't change her mind like some little girl who says first they want one thing, and then they want another. I liked that.

The Marcie Drama was a little too undeveloped, I think it needed more, I needed to know more. But the Scott Issue was really well written! I loved that.

And the ending! Argh, you can't do that Becca, that's mean! Why did you leave us hanging like that? I tell you, it was all worth it for those final chapters!

So, all in all, while I didn't love this book as much as I did Hush, Hush, I still liked it, and that's why I'm giving it 4 Stars.

Have you read Hush, Hush and Crescendo? Are you waiting for Silence too?

A few days ago, I was contacted by Jennifer who's working with GONE author, Michael Grant, in a new and exciting project.

This winter, we'll be able to experience Michael's new transmedia series, which according to Jennifer "is essentially [...] an interactive narrative told through the written word, video, puzzles, and more. But most importantly, it encourages fans to become part of the action."

Hi everyone! How are you? Still anxiously awaiting for PANDEMONIUM's release, like us? I thought so. That's why I came up with this super fun giveaway!

Here's how this is going to work:

You'll have from right now until Jan 1st, 2012 to enter. That's five months to plan, make and send us the cover.

On that day (Jan 1st), we'll stop receiving entries and later that week we'll post all of the photos we got up until that point, so you can tell everyone to stop by and vote for your cover.

The five covers with the most points by Feb 15th will be jugded by us (Reg, Bonnie, Marisa, Cary and I) and, ultimately, by Lauren. (Meaning, your cover will be up for voting until Feb 15th).

We'll choose a winner, and announce it here on March 1st.

The winner will get a Hardcover copy of PANDEMONIUM on Mar 6th (if The Book Depository delivers properly), its release date!

What you have to do: (the important stuff)

Take a picture of yourself (or, if you're a boy, it can be a friend, a sister, anyone!) recreating PANDEMONIUM's cover. You can use dried leaves and flowers around your face to get the look of the cover, but it doesn't necessarily have to be exactly like the original. Respect the orange tones! And do what you want about the title, have fun with it!

Remember you have time to enter, don't rush into making something you won't like later. Take several pics to choose from.

The Fine Print:

(EDITED) This giveaway will be open Internationally, as long as The Book Depository ships to your country. (Thanks prettybooks!)

You'll be emailing the cover you made to deliriouslyfalling@hotmail.com by Jan 1st, 2012 with all your contact info (mailing address, name/alias you'd like us to share if you win, blog address if you have one). No contact info, no entry.

I reserve the right to modify any dates published on this post. I also reserve the right to call off the giveaway if we have less than 15 entrants. There needs to be plenty of us, so we can have fun!

We'll have just one winner, which will win the grand prize (a Pre-Order for a Hardcover copy of PANDEMONIUM). But I'd stay tuned if I were you. Who knows, maybe we'll add a second and third prize.